Norton Oil Co. in Phillipsburg has closed and customers are being serviced by Sycamore Cos., according to a message on the Phillipsburg's company's website, an announcement on Sycamore's phone mail system and a chamber of commerce official.

Sycamore has not taken over Norton, but is trying to assist its customers in the Washington area, Meg Dowd, director of Phillipsburg and Easton initiatives for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, said this morning. The companies are saying all Norton customers are being serviced by Sycamore.

A worker filling a truck this morning at Norton's facility in the 500 block of Marshall Street said they were draining down the tank to make deliveries until it is empty. There were three trucks at the facility. He said customers know more than company employees.

A customer who wouldn't give his name said this morning he was concerned about money he put into an annual contract.

Representatives of Norton and Sycamore couldn't immediately be reached this morning. Norton President Richard Norton does not have a listed phone number.

There was no sign on the Phillipsburg business saying it was closed. The Norton's price board this morning in the 200 block of Route 31 in Washington Township, N.J., had no numbers on it this morning, an emailer reports.

The Norton website says: "Good news! Norton Oil customers are now being serviced by the Sycamore Company which is comprised of several familiar names in the heating oil industry. Sycamore Company will provide 24 hr emergency service and all your fuel delivery needs. Please call them at 973-947-4158 and speak to their customer service people to answer your questions and calm your concerns."

A message on that phone number for Sycamore says, "servicing all Norton Oil customers."

Mayor Harry Wyant said Norton's Oil Co. serviced many people in the Phillipsburg and Easton areas. He said he didn't know the circumstances leading to the closure or what will become of the company, although he'd like to see it continue. Wyant estimated Norton's Oil Co. operated in town for more than 70 years.

A change in ownership would mean little for the town, he said, but a shutdown would be a different story.

"If it closes down all together, that's a loss for the town of Phillipsburg," Wyant said. "A business that has been around for over 70 years is a true loss, because it was an icon."

Towne Market owner Sal Cassar said it was "one of the most stable, most solid companies," in the area. The company had been in business "forever," he said.

"Everybody is just stunned this happened," Cassar said.

Norton Enterprises, of which the oil company was once a part, was founded in the late 1930s by William M. Norton, a former mayor of Phillipsburg. Richard Norton is listed as owner of the oil company and Neil Norton as president in online profiles. The person who answered the phone this morning at Neil Norton's home in Wall Township, N.J., said he's no longer involved in the company, that it's run by his brother. She said she didn't know the oil company was closed and that Neil Norton wouldn't be available until this evening. No one answered the door this morning at Richard Norton's home in Palmer Township.

The oil company employed between 15 and 25 people, according on online listings.